Post-Game Quotes vs. Ducks

“I think we came out pretty good. We looked like we had some jump in our legs, we even got the first goal. Then slowly they worked themselves in through the game and if you look down to it, a lot of power plays that didn’t produce. DK’s, I think that was 6 on 5, but we had a lot of opportunities, but once again we couldn’t get enough going.”

Was it a case of being sloppy and too many turnovers?

“Yeah, kind of like mid-half and probably the second half of the game we started to be a little sloppy. Probably a good word, but we almost tried too much. Instead of keeping it simple and get the puck down we tried to make an extra pass and they intercepted a lot of pucks, and they got a lot of odd-man rushes there.”

They weren’t called for too many men, and Larkin was tripped, so how much of a backbreaker was their fourth goal?

“That’s typical sport, isn’t it? That’s what happens sometimes. Sometimes you have that with you and sometimes you have that against you. But I think even when they score four that fourth one, we felt like we had something going, but we should have had more going before that.”

“Jimmy was good. He hasn’t played in a while, but came in and played with confidence. I thought he was big in the net and he handled the puck well. So, you know, he gave us a chance to win.”

Is it a little disconcerting that you only have one win in the past eight home games?

“Yeah, it is. This is our home. We’re usually a lot better at home, getting more wins here. A couple years ago, I think, we had a really good road record and we had it tough here at home. The next year we kind of switched it around. We just need to go out and play the way we’re supposed to play. I think as soon as we get away from that the other team gets turnovers and then it’s really hard to play.”

But you’ve seemed to find the winning formula on the road, right?

“Yeah, maybe we keep it a little more simplier on the road. When we come home and play here, maybe we want to do a little bit too much instead of keeping it simple and getting pucks deep. Most of the time when we get pucks deep we’re creating some chances and we spend time in their zone.”

“It had been awhile. It’s the hand I’ve been dealt and I’m just going to go out there and compete and hope for the best, that I can get points for the guys.”

You looked like you had poise and were big in net, did you feeling that way?

“I was just trying to play the way I practice. I’ve been practicing really hard with (goaltending coach) Jim (Bedard), staying out, just doing what I know. That’s working and hopefully it pays sooner or later.”

Did some of the defensive mistakes lead to a few of the goals?

“That’s something you’ll have to ask Blash. When I’m in there I’m just trying to make saves.”

Was there one goal in particular you would have liked back?

“I don’t know.”

Were you able to see anything on Perry’s second goal?

“I tried to push over and I ran into DK’s foot. They made a nice play there.”

The team has had a lot of success on road, so why the difference at home?

“That’s a good question. On the road we keep it a lot more simple. We play from the back end on out. Maybe we play a little bit more of a complete game on the road. Sometimes when you’re at home you want to give your fans a show and that can hurt you.”

The PK was perfect tonight, what did you like about its success?

“We just played as a four-man unit. Guys sacrificed their bodies to block shots, especially in the first period and in the second. When you’re on the PK the only thing that matters is the other five-man unit. We did a good job in that aspect of the game tonight.”

JEFF BLASHILL

Jimmy Howard, who made 31 saves in Saturday's game, gets run over by Anaheim defenseman Sami Vatanen during the 4-2 loss at Joe Louis Arena, (Photo by Dave Reginek/Detroit Red Wings)

What is your assessment of this one?

"We weren't good enough. They were good, credit to them for sure. I thought they looked impressive. I didn't think we managed the puck well enough. So when you turn pucks over you end up playing more in your end, you end up not being able to apply as much pressure as we want to apply. Overall, not good enough."

There seemed to be an unusual number of breakdowns?

"Yeah, there was. Just thinking through all of them. One was a turnover for sure, resulted in a 2 on 1. The other ones were either some missed assignments or misreads so not good enough, not sharp enough."

Were there some missed calls that maybe left you scratching your head?

"When you don't play good enough, you have no right to worry about anything but your own play."

Did it seem like they got to the net too easily?

"I'm just thinking through in my head again. Again, we didn't do a good job overall of making people be through us, I think our slot protection's been real good. It was a point of emphasis coming into tonight and we didn't do a good enough job of it tonight. We had missed coverages, we had turnovers. We didn't play well enough to win."

What did you think of Howard?

"I thought Jimmy played good. I thought he got hung out to dry. I thought he played really good, actually. I thought he held us in the game in the first on the power play, on the penalty kill there. I thought he made saves in the second. It's unfortunate for Jimmy. I was hoping Jimmy could get a game that would go his way and by go his way, I mean, partially the team in front of him plays really good and we didn't. We really hung him out to dry, I thought."

Only one victory in the last eight home games, any reason?

"I heard that stat. I live in a singular world of game to game. Are we going to look at it and say is there some alarming thing that we're doing that we can correct? Yeah. But to me it's more a day-to-day correction in trying to get better. It's not like those eight games have been in a row. So I'm not sure why that is. But I know in this particular case we didn't play well enough to win and the next game we play in New York, we better play better."

You had Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Larkin together a little. Is that something you might go more with as you move on?

"Well, there's a number of circumstances that went into some of the different line combinations. We had guys bumped and bruised a little bit and that dictates some position that they can play and stuff like that so I don't know which way we'll go. We'll have to look at the film and make our determination what gives us the best chance to win on Monday."

You had success on the penalty kill, what adjustments have you made that worked?

"I thought the penalty kill got better as it went along but we gave up too many chances. Again, on process, Jimmy had to be great at certain times there so you can't rely on your goaltender to have to be great. That was unfortunate."

Was Jurco's goal an indication of the kind of player he can be?

"He was great last night, he did a real good job. I thought tonight he did a real good job. He, to me, was one of the bright spots. I thought he was on pucks, I thought he created stuff so he was definitely a bright spot tonight."

What is Jurco doing that you like?

"He's on the puck on the forecheck, on the puck on the track and he seems to be gaining confidence with the puck. He can make plays, he can shoot the puck, he's got a lot of offensive skill. He seems to be gaining confidence in that area."